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Exception proves the rule! Humans have positive effect on environment. Deregulate it all!

by hashkb 9y ago

IanCal 9y ago
> Exception proves the rule! This is not really related to the topic but for anyone else wondering like I did for many years how this statement makes sense (given that it is usually used in a phrase meaning a single counter example proves the general case true for some inexplicable reason), the phrase actually means something else. A single counter example can prove a general rule exists in conversation, because we don't normally isolate examples unless they're somehow special. For example, if you come to my house, and I point at one of the chairs and say "you can't sit in that chair" you would assume you could sit in one of the others even though I haven't said so. The example on wikipedia is "parking is not allowed on Sundays", which would lead you to assume that parking was allowed on other days. As it says there, a more explicit wording would be "the exception that proves the existence of the rule."
- randallsquared 9y ago
  That's an interesting interpretation, but I was under the impression that the word "proves" was meant in its older sense as "tests". The phrase "the exception tests the rule" would convey the same "well, if you have to call out an exception, that means that the rule is otherwise operative" meaning you ascribe to it, but I think the etymology supports it better.
  - itp 9y ago
    The phrase "exception that proves the rule" is from the Latin "exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis," or "the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted." The Wikipedia article[0] is actually pretty interesting, and among other things suggests that your interpretation of "proves" as "tests" is false. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule
    - unFou 9y ago
      You shouldn't always accept Wikipedia entries on face value. The word "probat" in the latin phrase has been translated in Wiki to "confirm", but could alternately be interpreted as "test" or "inspect": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/probo https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/probo
- colanderman 9y ago
  I always understood the saying in the statistical sense. That is, having seen – and understood – an exception, we can be more confident that our understanding of the rule is valid. E.g., say the "rule" is, the database always keeps data safe. I might not feel confident about that claim, until I see a case when the database fails to keep the data safe, and understand exactly how and why the rule did not apply in that scenario. If I never see such a case, I have little confidence that we correctly measure whether the database keeps the data safe.

Exception proves the rule! Humans have positive effect on environment. Deregulate it all!

by hashkb 9y ago

Exception proves the rule! Humans have positive effect on environment. Deregulate it all!

> Exception proves the rule! This is not really related to the topic but for anyone else wondering like I did for many years how this statement makes sense (given that it is usually used in a phrase meaning a single counter example proves the general case true for some inexplicable reason), the phrase actually means something else. A single counter example can prove a general rule exists in conversation, because we don't normally isolate examples unless they're somehow special. For example, if you come to my house, and I point at one of the chairs and say "you can't sit in that chair" you would assume you could sit in one of the others even though I haven't said so. The example on wikipedia is "parking is not allowed on Sundays", which would lead you to assume that parking was allowed on other days. As it says there, a more explicit wording would be "the exception that proves the existence of the rule."

randallsquared 9y ago
That's an interesting interpretation, but I was under the impression that the word "proves" was meant in its older sense as "tests". The phrase "the exception tests the rule" would convey the same "well, if you have to call out an exception, that means that the rule is otherwise operative" meaning you ascribe to it, but I think the etymology supports it better.
- itp 9y ago
  The phrase "exception that proves the rule" is from the Latin "exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis," or "the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted." The Wikipedia article[0] is actually pretty interesting, and among other things suggests that your interpretation of "proves" as "tests" is false. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule
  - unFou 9y ago
    You shouldn't always accept Wikipedia entries on face value. The word "probat" in the latin phrase has been translated in Wiki to "confirm", but could alternately be interpreted as "test" or "inspect": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/probo https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/probo
colanderman 9y ago
I always understood the saying in the statistical sense. That is, having seen – and understood – an exception, we can be more confident that our understanding of the rule is valid. E.g., say the "rule" is, the database always keeps data safe. I might not feel confident about that claim, until I see a case when the database fails to keep the data safe, and understand exactly how and why the rule did not apply in that scenario. If I never see such a case, I have little confidence that we correctly measure whether the database keeps the data safe.